Juniperus squamata

Buch.-Ham. 1824

Common names

Taxonomic notes

Syn: J. morrisonicola (Silba 1986). One variety, Juniperus squamata var. morrisonicola (Hayata) Li & Keng 1954 (syn: J. morrisonicola Hayata 1906, J. squamata sensu Kanehira 1936 (Li 1975)).

Description

Var. morrisonicola described as "[a] shrub or tree, procumbent, up to 5-10 m in height, up to 1 m in diameter, the branches long, decumbent, terete, the branchlets ascending. Leaves linear, 3-5 mm long, 1 mm broad, densely and ternately arranged, concave and whitish above, grooved and green beneath. Cones globose or ellipsoid, 6-8 mm long, purplish black when mature, subtended by several bracts at the base. Seeds solitary, globose or ovoid" (Li 1975).

Range

Afghanistan, India, China, Taiwan (Silba 1986). The variety found only in Taiwan: "central ranges at high altitudes of over 3,000 meters, the highest growing conifer of the island, forming a dense scrub or on open, exposed slopes growing as a tree" (Li 1975).

Big tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Reported collections of var. morrisonicola (HAST Database) include:

• Yushan National Park, 3950 m, growing 2 m high in a sunny and dry place.
• Nantou Xian: 121°02'50"E, 23°30'50"N, 3200-3600 m. Abundant on exposed rocky slope above tree line. Gnarled shrub ca. 1.4 m tall.
• Kaohsiung Xian: 3150 m. Ca. 1.5 m high, trunk ascending, growing adjacent to steep cliffs.

Yushan National Park looks like a good place to see it.

Remarks

Citations

See also

Farjon (2005) provides a detailed account, with illustrations.